Signs of Marathiâ€™s decline are all around

Youth do not use their mother tongue; Experts blame politicians who only give the language lip service.

The Thackerays may loudly lament the decline of Marathi, but the ordinary Maharashtrian is not opting to study in her mother tongue, nor does she think it necessary to use Marathi to get her work done. In a cosmopolitan city like Mumbai, English is the language of choice.

â€œI have studied in English and my upbringing has been such that we were never compelled to speak in Marathi,â€ says Munira Chendvankar, a final-year student of the Bachelor of Mass Media course of Mumbai University. â€œI speak in Marathi with my parents and some close people only.â€